Garden abundance.

Last year, my pickles were a failure! Two things went wrong. One, I didn’t use fresh dill. I used dried dill weed that had

been sitting in my cupboard for a few years. Second, I tried brining the cucumbers. They were flavorless chewy blobs.

But, just like any garden, a new year springs optimism. Check out these pickles.

Fresh dill, fresh pickles (no brining), and a ton of garlic in each jar. I can’t wait. Maybe the cukes were a little big, but my hubby did a great job of cutting them down to size. I had extra beans so I tried pickling a few of those as well. Purple beans give the brine a color I didn't like, but I can look through that if they taste good.

Besides cucumbers coming out of my ears, I found a couple of zucchini

logs hiding. I found a recipe for Zucchini Salsa and am trying that out. First taste was a little sweet (the recipe called for a cup of brown sugar). But I’m sure after a 15 minute water bath the cumin and peppers will mellow that out.